Al-Sb-Ge phase change material: A candidate for multilevel data storage with high-data retention and fast speed

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2018.08.009
• Publication Date: 2018-08-16T07:15:57Z
• Authors: Yuan Xue; Sannian Song; Shuai Yan; Tianqi Guo; Zhitang Song; Songlin Feng
• Keywords: 0103 physical sciences; 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 01 natural sciences

Abstract The phase change memory with Al-Sb-Ge alloy is investigated for the feasibility of embedded system and the potential possibility of multilevel data storage. The Al15Sb53Ge32 compound has a high crystallization temperature (333 °C) and outstanding data retention ability (260 °C). Ge atoms inhibit crystal growth to enhance thermal stability and Al15Sb53Ge32 contains sequential crystallization of Sb-rich and Ge regions in two-step crystallization process. Remarkably, the device presents a fast speed of 50 ns and endurance up to 2.3 × 104 cycles. At the same time, a reliable tripe-level resistance state of the phase change memory cell is observed.